As Case explains, “Cyborg anthropology is a way of understanding how we live as technosocially connected citizens in the modern era.” For example, she sees cell phones as “companion species” and notes that if you never throw away your computer files or photos, you might be a “digital hoarder.”

Case credits Deborah Heath, associate professor of anthropology, for introducing her to the concept of cyborg anthropology during a 2005 spring philosophy extravaganza.